Harris Cole is a nocturnal producer residing in the Chicago suburbs. Over the course of many restless nights, he crafted ten cohesive tracks known as Pause. Both ambient and electronic, with heavy doses of melancholia, the album quickly became one of my most repeat-worthy projects of the season. Now that Chicago has dropped to the 30s, Pause sounds even better. Enjoy the album while reading the Q+A I had with Cole about his debut album.
How long have you been working on your debut album?
It took me about 14 months from start to finish. Prior to this, I hadn't really ever spent that much time on any one project, so this was a very new experience for me.
How would you describe it to a stranger on the street?
Slow, ethereal, magnified, airy, sad.
The whole project is very relaxed and ambient in nature. What inspired this direction?
Living at home in the suburbs of Chicago: there's a lot of nature in my town, and lots of natural ambience - especially at night. The main source of inspiration for the ambient aspect of my music is the world that exists at night from my perspective. A lot of that comes from me sitting in the backyard and listening to the sounds around me.
Given the artwork, is Pause more of a night album?
In many ways yes. The album was created almost exclusively during the night, though this is because I'm a night person. I have a really fucked up sleep schedule - so I usually stay up 'til anywhere from 5-9am and sleep til 3-7pm (it's not good). All the songs that ended up on the record were made at night.
What's your music world looking like moving forward?
I really want to do music for tv, commercials, film, video games, and learn more about virtual reality. I also want to learn more about music therapy and find out about the potential to treat mental illness with music.
Do you have any advice for artists working on their craft?
Don't be shy to try different things! If your art is an extension of you, how can you personalize your work to adequately portray yourself?
Any final words/thought/shout-outs?
S/o to Instupendo, s/o to Hue Honey, s/o to Adult Swim, s/o to my parents, and s/o to everyone that supports me.